Whole Bunch of Cuts Today

by WTM on Apr 1, 2009 8:59 AM EDT Comment 12 comments

Per the PG:

Salazar, Bootcheck, Davis, Bautista, Garrett Jones, Erik Kratz (yeah, I know, who??), Virgil Vasquez, Phillips.

According to Kovacevic, that leaves 27, which includes Phil Dumatrait, who's going on the DL. With Vasquez cut, Karstens will start. So that leaves one cut left, and Jesse Chavez (who's been bombed all spring), Evan Meek (who has bronchitis), and Rule 5er Donnie Veal are still around. If you assume Meek is also going on the DL, the bullpen would look like this:

Matt Capps

John Grabow

Tyler Yates

Craig Hansen

Jesse Chavez

Sean Burnett

Donnie Veal

That could be the worst bullpen in modern baseball history. There's gotta be a trade or waiver claim coming.

0 recs | Comment 12 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Kratz is a spare catcher, I think.

Probably just kept him around so they’d have someone to throw the ball back to the pitcher on side sessions.

Disappointed to see Salazar go. Hopefully, Nyjer and/or Monroe will play their way off the roster fairly quickly, so we can upgrade.

That pen has a lot of downside potential, but I still don’t think it’ll be as bad as our 2003 pen was.

by Vlad on Apr 1, 2009 9:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Can you smell that?

That’s the smell of a Morgan/Monroe platoon.

Quick, someone name a team with a worse LF combo.

by OlStubbleBeard on Apr 1, 2009 9:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That's not gonna be a quick choice.

It’s gonna take a while to come up with a worse LF combo…if it’s even possible. :)

by Thunder on Apr 1, 2009 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders...

…used Dick Harley (.250/.315/.307, 79 OPS+ in 567 AB) as their primary LF. The few games he didn’t play there went primarily to Sport McAllister (.237/.273/.297, 64 OPS+) or Crazy Schmit (.157/.244/.157, 16 OPS+, primarily a pitcher). So there’s at least one team that did worse. Of course, the Spiders cancelled all of their home games in the second half because they spent more to open the park than they earned in ticket revenue, finished the year at a robust 20-134, and were dissolved at the end of the season. So we might want to set our sights a little higher, here.

by Vlad on Apr 1, 2009 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

For a more recent example:

The 2001 Baltimore Orioles had the following time-share in LF:

starts, 393 innings: Delino DeShields, .197/.312/.309, 69 OPS+
starts, 383 innings: Brady Anderson, .202/.311/.300, 66 OPS+
starts, 224 innings: Jay Gibbons, .236/.301/.480, 106 OPS+
starts, 206 innings: Mike Kinkade, .275/.345/.381, 96 OPS+
starts, 169 innings: Jeff Conine, .311/.386/.443, 123 OPS+
Plus five starts spread among Larry Bigbie, Luis Matos, and a 41-year-old Tim Raines.

Conine was actually a decent option there. Unfortunately, they spent half the season with him as their starting 1B due to an injury to the perpetually-fragile David Segui, and he was also their best backup for 3B, RF, and DH.

by Vlad on Apr 1, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, shit.

The stupid autoformatter ate my start totals. DeShields and Anderson were both mid-40s, everybody else was around 20.

by Vlad on Apr 1, 2009 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

wow.

by GTrain on Apr 1, 2009 10:16 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Does anyone know if Dallas McPhearson can play left?

by GTrain on Apr 1, 2009 10:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He can't.

Even third base is a bit of a stretch, due to the back thing.

by Vlad on Apr 1, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I mean, technically anybody can "play" left.

But if we used him there, he’d have a range of about three steps and a wince to either side. And Nate would have a heart attack running down balls in the gap.

by Vlad on Apr 1, 2009 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yea. I basically just get a glimmer of hope when any recognizable name, or former prospect is on waivers. I yearn for the day our LF’s name doesn’t rhyme with Blyjer Shorgan. here’s hoping he proves me wrong…

by GTrain on Apr 1, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs